Rocky Mountain high: baking treats at high altitude

It's that time of year when social opportunities abound. The weather is
warm, the days are long, and it just feels right to light up the grill
and invite friends over for a long lazy evening under the stars. And
most of the time, backyard cooking involves some sort of potluck
element, with the host grilling brats or burgers and everyone else
supplying side dishes and dessert. And what better way to end a meal
than with a homemade goodie of some kind?

Living in Castle Pines means living at high altitude (we're at roughly
6,500 feet) and that can mean cookies that spread like a pancake and
cakes that rise and fall like Vesuvius. So how to find a sweet ending to
a backyard party that won't leave everyone feeling, well, deflated?

Colorado cookbook author and baking teacher Randi Levin – also known as
the "Muffin Lady" – has lots of tricks to combat the challenges of a
high, dry climate. A native of the east coast, Levin came to Colorado in
the 1970s and was dismayed to find that many of the goodies she had
grown up baking for friends and family just didn't work in Colorado.

"I came from sea level and knew nothing about how higher elevation
combined with dry thinner air could affect a good but basic chocolate
chip cookie recipe," said Levin.

Her first project was finding a way to perfect those chocolate chip
cookies. She added a bit more flour and has been tinkering with baked
goods ever since.

A few of Levin's tricks for tasty treats at high altitude include:

Decreasing leavening ingredients like baking soda and baking powder ever
so slightly. When measuring the leavening agent (baking soda or baking
powder), indent your finger into the ingredient a tiny speck when
leveling the measuring spoon and push the excess back into the
container. This leaves a little visible indent in the ingredient, and
decreases it accordingly!

Unless indicated otherwise, use butter only at room temperature so that
batter and dough mix easily – overbeating often times can cause problems
at high altitude.

Add a bit of extra flour (roughly a slightly rounded tablespoon for an
average-sized batch of cookies) to baked goods to help them hold their
shape and texture. There is no need to use "high altitude" flour.

Always use large or extra large eggs, also at room temperature.

For more information on high altitude baking and cookbooks or to sample a few of Levin's recipes, go to www.themuffinlady.com. Levin's book is available at Amazon.com for $15.
"There is one extraordinary ingredient that goes into everything I cook
and bake. Please, do not forget this ingredient, for it is important to
all recipes. When I am cooking or baking, I add extra spoonfuls of love
to all my recipes. Love added to all things good makes them just a
little bit better." - Randi Levin